Musharraf to drop graft charges against Bhutto?

LONDON: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and his exiled rival Benazir Bhutto inched closer to a power-sharing deal that would see the General retire from the army and drop graft charges against her, her husband and dozens of other legislators, media reported on Thursday.

The Guardian daily in an Islamabad datelined story quoted Bhutto saying that an agreement was "80 to 90 per cent complete", after her negotiations in London with senior Musharraf adviser and the Pakistani military's spy chief.

Her key demand - that General Musharraf give up his uniform before impending elections - has been agreed, she said. "A lot of progress has been made particularly on the uniform. But it's for the president to make an announcement."

General Musharraf has also agreed to drop corruption charges against Bhutto, her husband and dozens of other legislators, in the form of a general amnesty covering 1988 to 1999, she said.

According to the report, the news gripped Pakistani political circles, opening the prospect of a return to civilian rule after eight years under General Musharraf.

Only a few months ago the president claimed his uniform was a "second skin" that could not be removed. But yesterday one of his closest political lieutenants confirmed the deal, the newspaper claimed.

"There is no more uniform issue. It has been settled and the president will make an announcement," said Pakistan Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed in Islamabad.

Ahmed forecast that an understanding between Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party and Gen Musharraf would be finalized this week.

Under the deal Bhutto would return from exile to become prime minister while General Musharraf would become "Mr Musharraf" - a civilian president with responsibility for counter terrorism and security affairs. But the deal is not done, warned Bhutto.

Musharraf has so far refused to water down the powers of his presidency, in particular the ability to fire his prime minister at will.

"The next step is to resolve the balance between president and prime minister, and how to take the upfront step that would trigger elections," Bhutto said.

"We're not quite at the end of our discussions - and it's unclear whether we can get there," she said.

Meanwhile, President Musharraf has rejected calls by the PPP leader for a quick decision on a power-sharing deal.

Bhutto told the Guardian that Musharraf had until Friday to respond to her about the pact, adding "There are no ultimatums, but we need to know where we stand by then."

"While the president believes in dialogue and deliberations on all important issues he never works under any pressure or ultimatum," Major General (retired) Rashid Qureshi said in a statement.

"The president would take all decisions only in national interest at appropriate times according to the constitution and law," the spokesperson said today in Islamabad.

News of the talks prompted a furious attack from the other exiled opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, who plans to return to Pakistan in mid-September.

"If she calls herself a democrat she can't get into any deal with a military dictator," he told the Guardian newspaper.

"This will be very wrong. There should be no personal objectives. If Benazir supports Musharraf now the system will remain intact. It will be catastrophic if this goes ahead," Sharif said.

A supreme court judgement last week sanctioning Sharif's immediate return to Pakistan lent a new urgency to the London talks.

Sharif yesterday said it was "not a big deal" that General Musharraf had agreed to give up his uniform. "He has to do that anyway. He has no other option."

According to the report, Washington, believed to back Bhutto's return, should beware of supporting Musharraf any further, he warned.

"The US must not equate Musharraf with Pakistan. It is ignoring the aspirations of 160 million people by supporting one individual. Its policy is not balanced," Sharif said.

Musharraf urged Sharif yesterday to abide by an agreement that he signed in 2000 to spend a decade in exile in Saudi Arabia in exchange for his release from a jail term.

Sharif should "show character and not violate the agreement", Musharraf said.

Bhutto said Sharif was not a man of principle. "The people of Pakistan know that Sharif was taken with his entire family to a palace in Saudi Arabia. But I refused to sign on with a military dictator," she said.

Bhutto has given Musharraf until tomorrow, when her party leaders are due to meet, to respond to her deal. "There are no ultimatums but we need to know where we stand by then," she said.

Army generals have ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 60-year history. Whether they have held a fragile nation together or helped to pull it apart remains a matter of debate, the newspaper observed.

When civilians ruled in the 1990s, military operators quietly manipulated the levers of power, especially the notorious Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency, the report said. But easing the generals from power is not easy, it said.